1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to call management, and, more particularly to methods and systems for screening incoming calls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Phone users are frequently bothered by telemarketers, scam artists, prank callers, wrong numbers, and others. These calls may be indecent, menacing, and/or irritating, increasing probability for phone users posing in a financial risk. To the vast majority of call recipients, these unwanted calls are viewed as a nuisance and an invasion of personal privacy.
Currently, some phones provide mechanisms for screening incoming calls. Users can edit a blacklist recording caller ID, such as name or phone number. If an incoming call from the caller recorded in the blacklist is received, the incoming call is rejected or redirected to a voice box. In the conventional mechanism, however, users must know the name or phone number of the caller, and then enter it into the blacklist. The conventional screening mechanism only works on known callers, and is useless for calls from unknown callers, such as telemarketers, scam artists, prank callers, wrong numbers, and others. Additionally, if all calls with unknown names or phone numbers are set to reject, some important calls may be lost. The conventional mechanism has limited effectiveness for screening incoming calls, and lacks flexibility in practice.